MATCH DRAWN: WICB 223-6 & 180. INDIA 364.
The players are shaking hands in the middle, and the match has been declared drawn. Kohli managed to make all his available bowlers have a go at the batsmen, even giving part time bowlers an opportunity to roll their arms. The batsmen got crucial time in the middle, and got a feel of the surface. The spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra bowled in the right areas, and were well supported by the medium pace of Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur.
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84 overs: WICB 223-6, Hamilton 6, Hodge 39
Spin has been done away with, and Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur are operating from either end. Thakur has taken a cue from Shami, and is testing the batsmen with some short-pitched stuff. A short cover is in place.
WICB 213-6, Cornwall 21, Hodge 26
After a number of overs from part-timers Pujara and Vijay, Kohli reverted to Mohammed Shami. He obliged straight away, accounting for the wicket of Cornwall on 21.
And, there is some more part-time spin coming up. Cheteshwar Pujara is bowling from the other end. Pujara and Vijay holding up ends, surprisingly with the ball this time.
The players are back after the short break, and Murali Vijay will continue with his off spin.
TEA: 73 overs – WICB 175-5, Cornwall 0, Hodge 18And, the second session end, with India five more wickets to get a win before the Test series begins.
70 overs – WICB 174-5, Cornwall 0, Hodge 17
OUT! Ashwin comes around the wicket, and tastes success straight away. The ball pitches on middle and off, and slithers through to the stumps. Blackwood departs afer a long vigil, and the game is suddenly breathing life again. Cornwall is the new batsman in.
68 overs – WICB 163-4, Blackwood 40, Hodge 17
Unless the bowlers eke out a wicket or two, the match is on its way for a tame draw. It has served its purpose though, giving both the Indian batsmen and bowlers ample match practice before the actual Test. Thakur has been bowling in more or less the same channel, and Ashwin hasn’t wavered from his middle and off stump line.
64 overs – WICB 157-4, Blackwood 38, Hodge 13
Hodge has carried on from where Singh left, unruffled by the insipid offerings of the India bowlers. Ashwin has been bowling on the same spot ball after ball, on the channel on middle and off stump. After an unsuccessful spell, Binny has been replaced by Shardul Thakur, who is continuing with his good length deliveries on the off stump.
60 overs – WICB 141-4, Blackwood 27, Hodge 8
Binny is keeping the batsmen rooted to the crease by bringing the keeper up to the stumps. Now bowling straighter and fuller, his deliveries are much closer to the stumps. The first slip is way back in his position, and a short cover is keeping vigil as well. Ashwin is bowling his loopy deliveries from the other end, with a forward short leg and a leg slip giving company to the keeper.
58 overs – WICB 137-4, Blackwood 27, Hodge 4
DRINKS are on the field.
OUT! It took a run-out to end the fledging partnership, as Dhawan's throw accounts for the dangerous looking Singh. Motcin Hodge is the new man in.
56 overs – WICB 132-3, Blackwood 26, Singh 39
Binny is back to bowling short of length again, the sort of deliveries that won't push the batsmen on the front foot. The duo has been successfully diffusing any attempts to jeopardise the partnership. The left-handed Singh has been the more aggressive of the two, targeting any loose deliveries that the spinners are offering.
53 overs, WICB 128-3, Blackwood 26, Singh 35
The part-time spin is being persisted with, but there is nothing to thwart the concentration of this duo. Binny has started to bowl fuller now, and a short-cover fielder has been installed to gobble a stray aerial shot in the covers. However, these two have dug in to direct this match towards a draw. A wicket or two can still peg things back for India.
50 overs – WICB 128-3, Blackwood 26, Singh 35
Binny’s over was a slideshow of back of a length deliveries outside the off stump. As if the frontline spinners weren't enough, Murali Vijay has been introduced into the attack to give India a long-awaited wicket.
There is a good amount of breeze blowing across the ground, and one can see floppy hats flying off the fielders' heads now and then.
Stuart Binny will replace Amit Mishra from the other end.
48 overs – WICB 127-3, Blackwood 25, Singh 35
Mishra's leg spin has managed to extract grip off the surface, but success manages to elude him. Jadeja hasn’t varied his bowling one bit, continuing with fastish deliveries around the middle and off stump. The odd short ball was gleefully pulled away to the boundary by Vishaul Singh.
46 overs – WICB 120-3, Blackwood 23, Singh 30
The combination of Blackwood and Singh has managed to keep the Indian spinners at bay. Amit Mishra started off with a few beauties, but followed them up with a long-hop. Ravindra Jadeja is back to bowling his flat, darting deliveries. He was targetted in his second over of this session, getting hit for two huge strikes to the mid wicket fence.
The players are back in the middle post-lunch. Amit Mishra will start off the proceedings.
LUNCH 42 overs – WICB 104-3, Blackwood 20, Singh 12
A long session, 34 overs to be precise, finally ends with the WICB at 104-3. The last part of the session was a quiet one, with the duo of Blackwood and Singh successfully playing out whatever was offered by the spinners and Mohammed Shami. There were as many as four fielders around the bat for Ashwin’s last over before the break.
39 overs – WICB 98-3
Mohammed Shami’s aggressive spell has been the highlight of the action in the last ten overs. He has been mixing up his lengths very well, peppering the batsmen with short deliveries, and following it up with full ones. The close-in fielders have been kept in place for Mishra, but he has failed to induce an edge off the batsmen, who have played out a quiet phase after the fall of Hope’s wicket.
36 overs – WICB 96-3
Some pace finally, in the form of the 26-year old Mohammed Shami. He starts with a barrage of short balls, testing the batsmen with some chin music. With each progressing over, Mishra's deliveries are extracting more and more turn from the surface. Shami’s second over of the morning wasn’t too different from the first, mixing good length deliveries with some short stuff.
33 overs – WICB 92-3, Blackwood 20, Singh 6
There is an addition to the spin attack in the form of the leggie Amit Mishra. He managed to extract a bit of turn straight away, but was a touch on the shorter side. Ashwin continued from the other end, hardly giving the batsmen anything to work on. Mishra’s second over was a clear improvement, with the ball being pitched further up to the batsman, inviting him into a shot.
30 overs – WICB 85-3, Blackwood 12, Singh 1
One more quick wicket, and India will have a realistic chance of finishing this match in their favour. The two-pronged spin attack of Jadeja and Ashwin have kept things quiet, bowling testing channels on the off and middle stump. It is a test of survival for the WICB President’s batsmen here onwards. Apart from a few wide deliveries from Ashwin, that have been cut away for boundaries, the duo has maintained pressure in the middle
26 overs – WICB 71-3, Blackwood 4, Singh 1
And, the fielder at leg-slip gets into the action, latching onto an edge off Hope’s pads to complete a soft dismissal. Ashwin managed to spin the ball enough to get an edge off Hope’s glance. Vishaul Singh is the new batsman.
25 overs – WICB 70-2, Blackwood 4, Hope 17
With a wicket in his kitty, Jadeja is suddenly looking like a changed bowler, giving the ball more air as well as spin. Ashwin is continuing his trade of well-flighted deliveries on the off and middle stump, which has been countered by the duo with ease till now. The odd delivery is still darting off the surface, with fielders at short-leg and leg-slip ready to gobble any edge that comes off the bat. An edge off Jadeja’s flighted delivery almost carried to the first slip in the 24th over. And, drinks are on the field.
21 overs – WICB 60-2, Blackwood 0, Hope 11
With three close-in fielders next to the batsman, Ashwin is persisting with a tight line on the off stump to the left-handed Campbell. And, it is spin from both fronts, with Jadeja joining Ashwin after a change of ends. The move worked for him, as Campbell went for one shot too many, skying a ball to KL Rahul at deep midwicket. He departed for a well-made 31, but the shot-selection will question the temperament of the batsmen in the face of quality spin. Jermaine Blackwood is the new man in.
18 overs – WICB 59-1, Campbell 31, Hope 10
Thakur experimented with a short ball in the 17th over and was hooked for a boundary by Shai Hope. Ravichandran Ashwin, the sole wicket-taker in this innings, was reintroduced into the attack. Campbell continued with his aggressive instincts, sweeping the ball with ease. Ashwin made the odd ball rip off the surface, which caught the edge of Campbell’s bat and almost carried to first slip.
16 overs – WICB 53-1, Campbell 29, Hope 6
Campbell isn’t shying away from punishing any loose delivery bowled by Jadeja. He slog-swept him for a four and followed it with a six over cow-corner in the 16th over to take the score past 50.Thakur has been bowling outside the off stump relentlessly, hardly giving the batsmen any room to go for the shots.
13 overs – WICB 43-1, Campbell 20, Hope 6
Jadeja managed a better second over, bowling a maiden to John Campbell. Thakur continued his tight lines on and outside off-stump, but strayed in line towards the end of the 13th over, gifting a loose ball to Hope on the leg stump that was readily flicked to the midwicket fence.
10 overs – WICB 38-1, Campbell 19, Hope 2Ravindra Jadeja shares the ball from the other end and is straight away welcomed with a six over long on. He quickly goes through with the remainder of his over.Thakur is bowling a tight line outside the off stump to the left-handers.
Shardul Thakur has been given the first over on the third day. Shai Hope has joined John Campbell in the middle.
The trio of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja scored fifties as India took a comfortable lead over the WICB President’s XI on Day 2 of the second practice match. India require 9 more wickets to force a result on the third and final day of the match.
You can watch the live stream of the match here.
After having bundled out the Board President’s outfit for a meagre 180 runs, the Indian batsmen dug in to get some much-needed practice. While Kohli, Rahul and Jadeja helped themselves to fifties, Wriddhiman Saha and Ajinkya Rahane contributed with useful scores as India ended their innings on 364. Batting in the third innings, the Board President's XI lost the wicket of Leon Johnson, who departed to a tame caught-and-bowled dismissal to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Entering into the final day, the WICB President’s XI are 158 runs in the arrears. You can follow the live stream here:
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